Yes, the title of this post sounds familiar. Yes, it is similar to Bill Bryson's book's title "Notes from a Small Island". That was the intent. Having read so many of Bryson's books and having paid money for buying them, I see no necessity in offering him a royalty for borrowing a similar name for the title of my nondescript blog (which I only share with my Facebook friends)
Despite the similarity in names, the content is widely different. When he refers to "Island", he is referring to a gloomy, rainy island which had wisely refused to adopt Euro as its currency, had ruled over a good part of the world for few centuries and is now struggling to keep its economy going. Despite all the problems, it still has one of the presumably finest cities in the world- London.
When I refer to Islands, I refer to the happy go lucky Islands of Thailand, Indonesia and Singapore (not too sure about "happy go lucky" here) where people say "mail pel lai" which is a Thai way of saying "Don't think much". This will definitely offend Descartes who firmly believed in "I Think Therefore I AM" (People go so crazy about this Descartes uttering that they even start companies on its name; when I was graduating from college, a company called ITTIAM Systems came looking for heavy thinkers from IIT). The point I am trying to make is that Thai people only think with their working minds; they only think as much to get the job done which is a way of saying they don't worry a whole lot (keep their worrying minds powered down!). And you can get this vibe as soon as you land in Thailand.
In December of 2011, we had a week long vacation in South-East Asia. I do feel that a week was not enough to capture all the calming vibe of this region which means that I might visit again. We spent some time in Singapore, Phuket (an Island in Thailand) and Bintan (an Island in Indonesia). Singapore is a nice hub for good jobs, finance industry and the money minting which helps tourism in countries like Indonesia and Thailand going. Of course, due to overcrowding, only a small percentage of people own cars in Singapore, hence cabs are the way to go. Cabs are excitingly cheaper than cabs in the US (a good example to illustrate this point would be: In my 7 years of stay in the US, I have taken a cab just ONCE and in my three days in Singapore, I must have taken the cab at least seven times)
Singapore has a great Buddhist temple, a flourishing Chinatown, a Little India (who would not have guessed that!) and enormous hotels. My most memorable part of the Singaporean trip was relaxing in the Buddhist temple and hogging at a fine Indian restaurant in Little India. Another interesting artifact of Singaporean government is that visas are easy to get. I sent photocopy of our passports to our friend Manish in Sinagapore and it hardly took him a few days to get our visas. (no interviews needed, no need to part with your passport for indefinite amount of time).
Manish had planned an interesting trip to Phuket from Singapore and the rest is unforgettable. Again, just like a great Asian country, getting a visa was extremely simple; it was actually on-arrival. They click your picture, charge you some money and stamp a visa. And the cherry on the top is that Freyjaa (holding a US passport) did not even have to get a visa for either of the two countries. These are some very important aspects of travel, especially if you have experienced the amount of paperwork you need to do to get a US visa. We stayed in the Patong beach area of Phuket, roamed around in the streets, encountering shady massage parlors and Lady Boys once in a while (signature trademark of Thailand, no wonder expatriates to Thailand are called sexpatriates) . That does not mean all massage services in Thailand are shady. At Karon beach, we got an inexpensive massage by the beach, lying down in the shade, sipping coconut water and listening to the waves (this would made a perfect travel magazine/brochure advertisement picture). There is a lot of culture to explore in Phuket as well. On our way back to the airport, we took a residential route, passing Thai natives sitting on their front porches and Hindus worshiping their deities in small neighborhood temples. Thailand was very much like a home, marveling us with its inexpensive comforts and tantalizing our hearts to live closer to home and family.
The last leg of the trip was Indonesia. We took a ferry from Singapore to Bintan, Indonesia. Bintan is a resort island. You cannot much get culture here but you can definitely get luxury of resorts and peace and quiet of an island. Visa was again on-arrival (can you beat that?) but this time Freyjaa had to get a visa as well (US passports don't get you too far in Muslim countries, haven't you watched Argo?). We stayed for a day in a resort (don't remember the name), had great food, rented E-bikes and rode around the island. This island is unbelievably beautiful and strikes a lot of similarity to Hawaiin Islands (I have to agree that Indonesian people are some of the sweetest people). If you ask me, going to Bintan should be a "must-do" if you are visiting Singapore. But, beware of sea sickness if you are taking the ferry.
I might go back again to this great tropical area but even if I don't, I have soaked up the entire experience in my skin and soul and will live these memories for the lifetime.
When I refer to Islands, I refer to the happy go lucky Islands of Thailand, Indonesia and Singapore (not too sure about "happy go lucky" here) where people say "mail pel lai" which is a Thai way of saying "Don't think much". This will definitely offend Descartes who firmly believed in "I Think Therefore I AM" (People go so crazy about this Descartes uttering that they even start companies on its name; when I was graduating from college, a company called ITTIAM Systems came looking for heavy thinkers from IIT). The point I am trying to make is that Thai people only think with their working minds; they only think as much to get the job done which is a way of saying they don't worry a whole lot (keep their worrying minds powered down!). And you can get this vibe as soon as you land in Thailand.
In December of 2011, we had a week long vacation in South-East Asia. I do feel that a week was not enough to capture all the calming vibe of this region which means that I might visit again. We spent some time in Singapore, Phuket (an Island in Thailand) and Bintan (an Island in Indonesia). Singapore is a nice hub for good jobs, finance industry and the money minting which helps tourism in countries like Indonesia and Thailand going. Of course, due to overcrowding, only a small percentage of people own cars in Singapore, hence cabs are the way to go. Cabs are excitingly cheaper than cabs in the US (a good example to illustrate this point would be: In my 7 years of stay in the US, I have taken a cab just ONCE and in my three days in Singapore, I must have taken the cab at least seven times)
Singapore has a great Buddhist temple, a flourishing Chinatown, a Little India (who would not have guessed that!) and enormous hotels. My most memorable part of the Singaporean trip was relaxing in the Buddhist temple and hogging at a fine Indian restaurant in Little India. Another interesting artifact of Singaporean government is that visas are easy to get. I sent photocopy of our passports to our friend Manish in Sinagapore and it hardly took him a few days to get our visas. (no interviews needed, no need to part with your passport for indefinite amount of time).
Manish had planned an interesting trip to Phuket from Singapore and the rest is unforgettable. Again, just like a great Asian country, getting a visa was extremely simple; it was actually on-arrival. They click your picture, charge you some money and stamp a visa. And the cherry on the top is that Freyjaa (holding a US passport) did not even have to get a visa for either of the two countries. These are some very important aspects of travel, especially if you have experienced the amount of paperwork you need to do to get a US visa. We stayed in the Patong beach area of Phuket, roamed around in the streets, encountering shady massage parlors and Lady Boys once in a while (signature trademark of Thailand, no wonder expatriates to Thailand are called sexpatriates) . That does not mean all massage services in Thailand are shady. At Karon beach, we got an inexpensive massage by the beach, lying down in the shade, sipping coconut water and listening to the waves (this would made a perfect travel magazine/brochure advertisement picture). There is a lot of culture to explore in Phuket as well. On our way back to the airport, we took a residential route, passing Thai natives sitting on their front porches and Hindus worshiping their deities in small neighborhood temples. Thailand was very much like a home, marveling us with its inexpensive comforts and tantalizing our hearts to live closer to home and family.
The last leg of the trip was Indonesia. We took a ferry from Singapore to Bintan, Indonesia. Bintan is a resort island. You cannot much get culture here but you can definitely get luxury of resorts and peace and quiet of an island. Visa was again on-arrival (can you beat that?) but this time Freyjaa had to get a visa as well (US passports don't get you too far in Muslim countries, haven't you watched Argo?). We stayed for a day in a resort (don't remember the name), had great food, rented E-bikes and rode around the island. This island is unbelievably beautiful and strikes a lot of similarity to Hawaiin Islands (I have to agree that Indonesian people are some of the sweetest people). If you ask me, going to Bintan should be a "must-do" if you are visiting Singapore. But, beware of sea sickness if you are taking the ferry.
I might go back again to this great tropical area but even if I don't, I have soaked up the entire experience in my skin and soul and will live these memories for the lifetime.
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